Can opener



Aug. 13, 1935. 1J. DUKE+ 2,011,193

CAN OPENER Fil'ed June 8, 1934 INVENTOP.

ATTORN EY Patented Aug. 13, 1935 UNITED ASTATES PATENT OFFICE John 1.11am, Toledo, om

Application June 8, 1934, Serial No. 729,605.

3Claims.

This invention relates to can openers and more particularly to that type of can opener in which the can rim is clamped and revolved against a cutting element.

An important' object of this invention is to provide a simple, staunch, economically constructed and easily operated device in which the cutting and rotating elements are rmly held in place in. relation to each other and to the can top, resulting in clean accurate work, and which also allows simple demountable features for the operating parts, to clean or renew them.

A further object of this invention is to provide a convenient, simple and effective lever action for forcing the cutter into the can top and holdingit there in adjustable relation to the element rotating the can and feeding the top against the cutter, and at the same time adjustably lock the can rim, either yieldably or unyieldably between the cutter and feeding roller during the cutting operation.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a rigid, staunchly constructed tool which is simple and handy to use and which may be detachably fastened to the wall or a support and that will hold the can in an upright position while it is being opened.

These and other objects I attain by the construction shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein, for the purpose of illustration, is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention and where:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a can opener containing my invention in engagement with the can top. Dotted linesk show a concealed part of the body portion and the movement of the trough shaped lever.

Figure 2 is an end section of Figure 1 on the line 2-2.

Figure 3 is another end section on the line 3 3.

Figure 4 is a side view of the cutting wheel.

Figure 5 is an end view of the same showing a single trunnion on the wheel.

Figure 6, the same side elevation as Figure 1 showing a different mounting of the cutting wheel and a spring element producing a pressure against the feed roller in the direction of the cam rim.

Figure 'I is an end section ofI Figure 6 on the line 1-1 and shows the lspring against the feed roller and the mounting of the cutting roller outand 2lb, in which spring 20 snaps successively side the trough shaped lever. Y

Figure 8 again shows a side elevation of the can opener with a variation in that the feeding element is mounted on the trough shaped lever hung from below andthe cutting element is mounted on the body portion. There is a spring lock for the trough shaped member.

s Fsigure 9 is an end view of Figure 8 on the line 3 Figure 10 is an end view of Figure 8 on line Ill-I0.

Figure 11 is another side view of the can opener with different spring locking element for the lo trough shaped lever.

Figure 12 shows a stationary cutter.

Figure 13 shows the feeding roller.

I4Figliire 14 is a cross section of Figure 13 on line Figure 15 shows the shield in which the cutting 1 roller turns with a special lip to space the cutting roller away from the can rim. i

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, numeral I9 indicates the elongated body por- 20 tion of the device which may be clamped to the Wall or support II through openings I2 and I2a. Numeral I3 indicates the long lever portion of the device. Dotted lines show the lever in an open position. Numeral I3 is trough shaped and is placed astride body portion I0 pivoted at one end thereof by bolt I4 and guided in its movement by the body portion over which it opens and closes like the shield over the blade of a knife. At the free end of lever I3 is a spring 30 locking device I5 which holds lever I3 in adjustable xed position against the can rim. In Figures 1 and 6, lever I3 forms the guide against which the can rim travels as it is forced in engagement therewith by feeding roller I6. In 35 the same figures cutting roller Il is mounted on the lever portion in Figures 1 and 2 inside the trough thereof and in Figures 6 and 7 outside the trough. In Figure 6 the feed roller I6 is yieldably held up against the can rim by spring I8 o bearing against surface I9 on the hub of ,the feeding roller as shown in Figure 14. A similar yieldable tension is created between the can rim and the feeding element by spring member 29 attached to the lever element in Figure 8 in which 5 the feeding roller is mounted on the lever element instead of on the body portion. This spring brings the lever portion, with the feeding element mounted thereon, into yieldabiy adjustable relation with the cutting element 4and the guide 5g. for the can rim mounted on the body portion, by means of flexible member 22 and holes 2 I, 2 Ia as the lever portion is closed upon the body portion. The lever is then released by pressing back I6 flexible member 22 and disengaging `spring 20 from holes 2lb, 2 I and 2 I. In Figure 11, spring 32 is attached to the body portion instead of the lever portion and engages in notches on the end o'f the trough shaped lever. Cutting element II revolves on its trunnion 23 running in a hole 24 in guard 25 as shown in Figure 15. The turn down lip 26 holds the cutting element I'I from cutting into the can rim preventing slivers of tin from being sheared off and dropping into the contents of the can.. Cutting lelement I'I revolves on axle 29 which continues for engagement by means of washer 30 and nut 3| with a revolving arm and handle 21 and 28. Feeder wheel I6 is off-set from plane of cutter I1 so as to allow the side wall of the can in between. Feeding wheel is serrated to easily engage the can rim without slipping. Y

To operate the can opener, lever I3 is raised as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 1 or lowered as shown on the dotted lines in Figure 8. The can rim is then slipped in between the cutting and feeding Wheels and lever I3 is closed against body portion I0 until the cutting wheel II is forced through the can top and the can rim is clamped between feeding wheel I 6 and the portion supporting the cutting Wheel which acts as a guide against the can rim when it is revolved Iby the feeding element.

As the trough shaped lever is shut against the body portion the spring lock engages the end of the lever and holds it at the most desirable tension at which to engagethe feeding element against the can rim. 'Ihis may either be an unyieldable tension as in Figures 1 and 6 or a yieldable tension as in Figures 8 and 11. Suiiicient friction is present between the elements and the can rim to embed and clamp the feeding wheel firmly into the bottom of the can rim and also hold the cutting Wheel in position to sever the can top as the can is revolved. By lturning crank 21 the feeding wheel revolves the can and the cutting wheel severs the can top, partially cutting it out or completely removing it if a full revolution of the can be made. 'I'he can is at all times held in vertical position and cannot tip or spill beyond the slight tilting which the can has when positioned in the can opener. The can remains supported in the device as the top is severed and until the spring lock is released and the lever opened.

The structure hereinbefore set forth is capable of a certain range of change and modication without materially departing from the spirit of my invention and I accordingly do not limit myself to such specific structure, except as hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. In a can opener, the combination of an elongated body portion with a feeding element mounted thereon, and an elongated trough shaped lever with a cutting element mounted thereon, said lever mounted astride said body portion, to open and to close thereon, to force the cutting element into the can, and to adjustably lock thereon in rigid closed position, so as to act as a guide for the can top and to force the same against the feeding element.

2. In a can opener, including a stationary body portion on which a feeding element is yieldably mounted, a movable trough-shaped lever hinged at its end at one end of the body portion to close astride thereof and carrying a cutting element to be forced into the can top adjacent to the feeding element, and means to adjustably lock the lever so as to engage the feeding element against different sized can rims.

3. In a can opener, a stationary body portion on which a feeding element is yieldably mounted, a movable trough-shaped lever hinged astride thereof to open and to close and lock thereon and carrying a cutting element, the lever being used both as a handle to force the cutting element onto the can top and as a rigid guide against the can top to hold the same against the feeding element; and means to adjustably vary the locked position of the lever.

JOHN J. DUKET. 

